John- duff



(No Model.)

J. DUFF. I TRACE PASTENER.

No. 425,868. Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE;

JOHN DUFF, OF GREENBUSH, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO EDWARD F.WRIGHT, OF SAME PLACE.

TRACE-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,868, dated April15, 1890. Application filed September 26, 1888. Serial No. 286,896. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN DUFF, of Greenbush, in the county of Rensselaerand State of New York, have invented new and useful ImprovementsinWhiffletree-Trace Fasteners, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in fastening devices for securingharness-traces to the whiffietrees of vehicles in such manner that thetraces cannot become accidentally released from the whifiietrees; andthe object of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, andeffective device for serving the above-named purpose. This object Iattain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which areherein referred to and form part of this specification, and in which-Figure 1 is a perspective view of one end of a whiftletree provided withmy fastener. Fig. 2 is a front elevation, on a reduced scale, of awhiffletree provided with my fasteners, with traces (shown in verticalsection) attached thereto. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. Iis an enlarged transverse section of a whiffletree provided with myfastener and having part of a trace attached thereto, the sectional linebeing taken through the opening in the whi'ffietree for receiving thetongue of the fastener.

One of the most frequent accidents incident to the driving of horsesproceeds from a 1iability of the traces to become accidentally separatedor released from the whiffletrees. This source of danger is well knownand many devices have been produced to remedy this trouble, but, as Ibelieve, none of them have been so simple as the one herein shown anddescribed.

As represented in the drawings, A designates awhiffletree, which may beof the form shown in the drawings or of any other form that may bepreferred. Said whiffletree has, near each end, a small vertical opening1, which may be formed directly in the material of which saidwhiffletree is composed; or it may be formed in a metallic attachmentthat will be secured to the ends of said whi'ffletree.

B is my trace-fastener, which is formed of sheet spring metal, but maybe made of any suitable material. Said fastener consists of a spring 2,which is made of a single piece of metal, and is secured at one end tothe whiffietree. Said spring has its opposite end bent to form an offsetor loop 3, which spans over the rearward portion of the trace 0. The

outer pendent portion of said loop forms a tongue ehwhich passes throughthe corresponding opening 1 in the whiftletree and forms a preventer,which keeps the trace from sliding sidewise from its engagement on saidwhiffletree. Said tongue is preferably made narrower than the body ofthe loop 3, and thereby shoulders 5 are formed to bear upon the upperface of the whiffletree to retain said loop at a proper height to keepit from bearing upon and chafing the upper edge of the trace.

The trace O is of an ordinary and wellknown construction, and isprovided with an opening 6, which is adapted to engage on the end of thewhiffletree. Said trace, separately considered, forms no part of myinvention.

To engage the trace 0 on the whiffletree A, the outer end of thefastener B is raised, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, until theupper edge of the trace will be free to pass under the tongue l. Then,after said trace is fixed on the whiffietree, the resilience of thespring 2 will return the fastener to its normal shape, wherein thetongue t will pass through the opening 1 to prevent the trace fromdisengaging from said whiffletree. The releasement of the trace iseffected by first raising the outer end of the fastener B, as above described, and then slipping the trace from the whiffletree, after whichthe fastener will resume its normal position.

I am aware that trace-fastcners consisting of a single spring haveheretofore been made with a loop having an upwardly-inclined outer endwhich served as a handle for raising the loop, but that construction isopen to the objection that the hairs of a horses tail are liable tobecome switched under said inclined outer end, thereby producingfractiousness in the animal. I am also aware that trace-fasteners haveheretofore been made to comprise a spring actuated loop or hook whichwas hinged to the whiffletree, said spring and loop being composed ofseparate pieces, which is both complicated and. expensive. I do notbroadly claim a spring tracefastener; but

I claim as my inv'ention The combination of a whiflietree provided 5with a vertical mortise at each end and a trace-fastener composed of asingle spring bent to form a loop which will span over a trace attachedto said whiffietree, the outer pendent member of said loop beingprovided [0 with shoulders which are fitted to bear upon the upper faceof the whiflietree, and having a pendent tongue fitted to enterthemortise in said whiflietree, so as to form a preventer against anaccidental disengagement of the trace from the whiffietree, as hereinspecified. I 5

JOHN DUFF. Witnesses:

WM. H. Low, S. B. BREWER.

